Fear The Walking Dead: After the Dam
by ImNinAlu
Summary: Based on AMC's 'Fear The Walking Dead', 'Fear The Walking Dead: After the Dam' takes place after the Season 3 finale of the TV series. Plot: Following the dam explosion, Madison is the only survivor we know of to be alive while the fates of the other characters are left unknown. We follow the story through the eyes of Madison Clark, who is determined on finding her loved ones.


**Fear The Walking Dead: After the Dam**

**Issue 1 - Day 69**

**(Madison narrating)**

_When the dead started walking, I was living in California, alongside my loved ones._

_Everything went to madness so quickly that my eyes could not believe what I was seeing. It was something I had never witnessed or seen my entire life, nor has history ever recorded such a thing. Everyone became terrified and afraid, many were in disbelief because of fear... _

_Mothers and fathers were seeing their children being mauled to death, the children were seeing their parents being broken and lost. Everyone ran for their lives, trying to survive and hope for a better place. My family was no different.  
There were riots on the streets, people killing people; everyone had lost their minds because of the fear of death gripping their very being._

_We then ran into the Salazar family: Daniel and his wife Grizelda, and their daughter Ofelia. They took us in and protected us for a time while the riots were happening._

_Travis, my fiance, had a son of his own named Chris, from his former wife Liza, while I had my children, Nick and Alicia, from my deceased husband, Steven Clark. _

_We united our two families together with the Salazars and went to seek safety._

_The government then had set up quarantine zones in many areas in LA a few weeks into the disaster. We were placed into one of these quarantine zones._

_It was nine days when we started attempting to live a normal life, when soldiers came and took my son and Grizelda to a hospital controlled by the army. Liza, Travis's ex-wife, was a nurse, they took her as well._

_The soldiers thought Nick was sick, so they wanted to eliminate him, but one man was there, his name was Victor, Victor Strand. He saved my son and didn't let the soldiers take him._

_We went to search for my son, and though we did find him, unfortunately Grizelda didn't make it. _

_We then rushed as far as we could from the hospital as the dead took over._

_Our families bonded with Victor Strand and followed him to his mansion, where we stayed for a little bit._

_Liza revealed to me that she was bit, and Travis found out and killed her, to prevent her from becoming one of the dead. Poor Chris did not take his mother's death that well, causing a rift between father and son. _

_Strand had a boat which he planned to use to go to San Diego, but San Diego was overunn._

_With nowhere else to go we went along with him on the boat called Abigail. As we were leaving LA, the government had called for the army to napalm the city, and they did that. Bombed every little corner they could find of LA. And everything was gone in the blink of an eye._

_We were on the boat for a while finding survivors along the way. But Strand refused to rescue them, so he left them for dead in the ocean._

_That's when I realized that humanity had been lost, and everyone was only caring for themselves since it was life or death._

_Along the way, we found a group of people, their leader was a woman called Celia._

_These people were broken people, they relied on spirits and the supernatural, as they were too ignorant to understand the new world. _

_Celia thought the dead weren't dead, that they were only sick since she kept many of them in her basement, and she would feed them._

_We decided to leave, since that place wasn't safe anymore. Before we left I locked Celia in with her dead. Now she was at peace with her own family, maybe even at peace with herself, her soul put to rest. Not long after that the plantation was caught on fire, caused by Daniel that same night. We presumed him dead, taking Ofelia with us to keep her safe for his sake. _

_Some time later, we found a hotel in Mexico, and we took it over and made it our home._

_It didn't last very long, and we lost it._

_In the meantime, Nick was on his own and had found this group called the Colonia located in Mexico, where he met his girlfriend, Luciana._

_Travis was also on his own with his son but Chris left his father on his own and went on a group of men he had just met. After a while, we found out that Chris had been killed by the same group he had befriended, betrayed by those he had bestowed his trust on._

_Not long after, we were captured by soldiers, and in this militia compound we were reunited with Nick and Luciana. _

_Eventually the dead took over, and these men took us to a place called Broke Jaw Ranch which was across the border, where the leader was an old man named Jeremiah Otto, along his two sons, Jake and Troy. On the way, I lost Travis, he was shot dead by an unknown enemy as he and Alicia escaped by helicopter. _

_My life had completely changed after Travis's death, he was what was left of the humanity that I still had and I lost that when I lost him, they both entered the grave that day. It shattered us, Alicia especially, who just a day ago had saved Travis's life by taking another. Both traumatized her._

_The Otto family was broken since the boys had a painful childhood, which affected their relationship with each other. Something I could perhaps exploit. _

_It was a big ranch with many people in it. Families that bonded with one another to survive together in desperation of these dark times, I understood them. _

_Jeremiah was a stubborn old man, who was in a long time feud with another group called the Nation and their leader Qaletaqa Walker who was a man of Native American origin. Ofelia, the daughter of Daniel Salazar, was there with them._

_The two groups had a long time feud, taking them back to when the world used to be normal._

_Because of Jeremiah Otto's pride and arrogance he had to go. I had planned to kill him one night, but it was Nick who pulled the trigger with the very gun Jeremiah had given him a few days prior. That placed us in a position of leadership and with that, I gave Walker what he wanted: Jeremiah's head. That's when two colonies, the Nation and the Ranch, joined together to live as one. _

_We eventually found Strand, and he knew of a dam, and we went there to try to get water for the ranch. Water was quickly running low,and people were getting desperate. _

_Daniel happened to be there, since we thought Daniel had burned in the fire back in Celia's community, it came as a pleasant, though confusing surprise. The very fire he had caused did not kill him it seemed, one more person who escaped death. _

_Unfortunately the ranch did not last when the dead took over, as most didn't. That's when we all went to the dam to live there in peace, but horrible truths surfaced that ended that peace before it had even started._

_Troy Otto was a stubborn man, like his father. He had led the horde to the ranch which caused it to fall, and his brother Jake and Ofelia died because of it._

_I had to put him down, so I took his life._

_Then this group of people called the Proctors came to the dam to take over it. Escaping was a choice we made quickly. Nick made it possible for us to escape, since he sacrificed his life for us. He blew up the dam._

_I made it out, but I lost everyone I loved, I lost my kids and friends. I lost my hopes and my dreams, but I still had my life. My life is the only thing I have to say. My life and my story._

_My name is Madison... Madison Clark. And this is that story.  
_

**(Present time)**

The darkness of the dead night was covering the city of Mexicali and the dead lurking within. A haunting image that would inflict fear on anyone who dared cross the path of the dead. The hungry moans of the walkers echoed through the darkness, paving way for a chorus long gone.

In one of the pharmacies a young man named Adam is looting the place grabbing as much useful gear he can. Desperate for amoxicillin or even oxycodone. Anything for the pain, anything for injuries, in fact, anything valuable he could get his hands on. Ever since this all started, Adam has been mostly on his own trying to survive as best as he could. To survive he needs as much stuff as he could carry.

The old world is gone and Adam needs to be quick about it. The last thing he wants is to be surrounded by the dead outside, the stench getting to him.

Suddenly he hears someone lurking ahead. In response he gets his knife ready in preparation for an attack. This is another fact of the new world. Kill or be killed yourself, since everyone is about surviving for themselves and no one else.

Suddenly a voice from behind says, "Don't move! And drop your weapon!"

He feels a cold metallic sensation on the back of his head. He is being held at gunpoint Adam realizes, he also realizes he has no choice. He does what the voice tells him to do. Slowly, he turns around and there he sees a woman who seems to be in her fifties. The woman is revealed to be Madison Clark.

"Give me your bag!" - demands Madison. Adam painfully hands over his bag to her, his bag filled with goods. Madison presses on, "Is that vehicle outside the pharmacy yours?"

Adam nods. He doesn't speak out of fear of what she is capable of and out of respect, though the latter is far from his mind. He is impressed by this woman's courage and attitude. Madison then demands for his car keys. Adam, however, hesitates.

"Instead of stealing someone else's stuff, you can just ask me nicely. Maybe I can even help you." Adam responds.

"Give me your car keys now! Or are you begging me to rip your skull off?" Madison threatens him, raising her voice.

Realizing what she could do, Adam handed over his car keys to her without further question. Madison quickly ran to his car and drove off to the El Bazar. A place she is certain her family and friends ran off too.

Madison arrived there quickly and parked not too far from the location. She saw that there was no one guarding the front entrance so without hesitation she got out of the car and began to approach the gate. Turns out the gate was locked, and without much thought or planning, she climbed the fences and landed on the other side.

Madison went into the building, her gun holstered, walking carefully so as to be cautious for any other survivor. Or survivors.

She walked into a hallway going room by room trying to loot as much as she could. When she discovered a closet something immediately caught her eye. Grabbing it, she noticed it was a portrait of a family, smiling, and as happy as they once were. a portrait of a father and mother with their son and daughter. Too similar to her past life. Madison got emotional as the flashbacks of the explosion of the Dam roared through her mind, and she stiffened, remembering how Nick sacrificed his life to save his mom. Of Travis, the man who kept the family together, who kept her kids safe and treated them as his own. Of her first husband, Steven, and the love he provided to his kids.

Madison tore apart the photo because of the memories that were haunting her and quickly left the room.

As she was walking, a man suddenly bumped into her.

"Hey who are y-", - the man began but without realizing what had happened, stopped. Madison reacts without thinking and pulls the trigger hitting him square on the head.

"Oh God!" she exhales. Reacting as quick as she could she drags his body back into the room she ran out of, frantically trying to hide him so that no one else could see what she had done, if there were others in the building. Unfortunately for her someone does see what she is trying to do, apparently having heard the gunshot.

"Oh fuck!" - the man shouts in fear and runs away.

"Holy shit!" - Madison curses at the top of her lungs as she runs off to chase after the man. She cannot let this man warn anyone else about what happened. She needs to find her people whatever the cost, even if it means killing to do it.

After a minute of chasing him she finally gets ahold of him. She grabs him from behind, wrapping an arm around his neck as the hand with the gun points it at his temple.

"Shut your mouth or I'll blow up your goddamn brain!" - Madison threatens him.  
"Please." - The man begs Madison to let him go, but she repeats her command, telling him to shut up once more.

She hears people walking in the hall and quickly she gets worried that they might find her. As she's holding the man captive, she hides in a nearby room, all the while telling her captive to stay quiet or she pulls the trigger. The man takes the warning.

She then waits for the people to walk away, and as they do that, they find the man that Madison had killed. A loud commotion ensues and they immediately run off to report the situation to the rest of the group.

Madison leaves the room once they left, holding the man hostage, and follows the path the others ran off to. She arrives in what she describes as the group's main fortress where they are all gathered.

"Freeze!" - the people shout while holding her at gunpoint.

"Don't move, or I'll kill this piece of shit man of yours!" - Madison shouts while threatening the man's life she's holding captive.

"There is no need for this hostility," - speaks up a man as he approaches the group.

Madison then looks at the man and questions him, "Who are you?"

"I am Isaac, the leader of the El Bazar. And you must be?" - The man replies.

"I am none of your business," - Madison says to him.

"If that is the case, why are you in our territory, holding a man of ours as hostage and killing our men?" - Isaac asks Madison.

"Is Nick Clark here?" - She wanted to get to the point. No time for chit chat.

Isaac seems to know him, as he looks familiar with the name.

"Nicholas the drug addict?" - He asks with curiosity.

"Yes, Nicholas, and mind your language!" - Madison replies in anger. "And how do you know of him?" - She added.

"He is not with us. But he was a good boy. He once stayed with us with his friend not so long ago. He may have mentioned some things here and there...That's how I know," - Isaac said and then asked, "I assume you know him?"

"He is my son," - Madison confesses.

Isaac seems surprised and says, "That's interesting. Nicholas is your son, huh? And his friend is your boyfriend, right?" - Reminding her about Troy Otto.

"He wasn't my boyfriend," - Madison replies furiously

As Madison keeps holding the man hostage, Isaac says: "Let our man go, we outnumber you, and you have no place to go. Release him."

Madison refuses to listen, as she slowly walks towards a window.

As she does that, the man kicks her in the stomach and frees himself while he pushes Madison through the window which breaks it, forcing her to fall to the ground.

Madison feels the pain upon landing, but she ignores it and gets up quickly.

As she gets up, she realizes that there's a horde of infected right in front of her.

Madison sees no escape, nowhere to run to. As she struggles to fight off the infected, Adam suddenly shows up and shoots the infected.

"Hey! Here I am!" - shouts Adam. "Run towards the gate, I'll make an opening for you. Quick!"

Madison listens without hesitation and she starts running while Adam makes a path for her.

As she is running, Isaac starts shooting at her trying to kill her, but he misses, the shots ringing out around her.

Isaac's men notice Adam, and they start shooting at him, but Adam is able to dodge their bullets.

Madison finally gets out and gets in the car, driving off with Adam while Isaac's men continue to shoot at them, leaving behind a trail of smoke and walkers going crazy for failing to catch their prey.

"That was intense," - says Adam, a bit winded.

Madison says nothing as she breathes deeply due to all that running.

Adam hands over Madison a can of soda to drink. Madison refuses at first but Adam insists, and Madison agrees to take the soda and she drinks it, slow sips between breaths.

As they are driving, Adam says, "Did you know those people?"

Madison doesn't reply and continues her chain of silence.

"Sooner or later you'll have to speak. To tell me why you did the things that you did." - He spoke.

"Why do you care? What is your concern?" - Madison finally speaks up. She sounds annoyed and Adam takes note of this, but to him she has done too much for him not to have any concerns.

"Well, you robbed me, took my car and shit to get to this place," Adam retorts.

Madison is silent as Adam waits for an answer. He is so focused on finding out that he just stares at her waiting for her to say anything.

"I don't know these people, but I've been there before," Madison finally tells Adam.

"For what?" Adam questions.

Madison gets irritated and yells, "What is your deal? Why do you care? You're a stranger to me so let's keep it that way."

Adam then replies. "Don't get angry, it's just a question. Questions can't harm you. I just want to know what the hell is going on. You took my shit for a reason."

"You are asking too many fucking questions!" Madison raises her voice to Adam. She does not have time for this kid's shit. She needs to find her family and friends now. They may be in trouble.

"I know, and that's what I wanna know. I wanna know who you are and why you were fighting with these people," Adam confessed.

Madison silences again. Can she really trust this kid? After all the shit she went through and the people that hurt her family, can she trust someone that just saved her? Perhaps he wants something in return.

"By the way, I'm Adam." He looks at her with a serious face but manages to smirk a bit as though saying his name gives him some sense of pleasure.

"My name's Madison. Madison Clark." To her saying her full name sounds weird at times, but right now it felt right as though this end of the world nonsense never even happened, and the two are just getting away from some deal gone wrong.

"Nice to meet you Madison Clark." There is joy, even relief, in Adam's voice when he greets her. For Adam finding someone else he could talk to is a relief from all the lonely days he has been trying to survive in the wild.

"Where are you headed to?" asks Adam.

"I'm not heading anywhere. I am just going where the road leads me to," Madison replies. She sounds a bit calmer and a bit more relaxed.

"Where do you come from?" Adam asks Madison.

"L.A." It has been a few months now since she has seen Los Angeles, but for some reason it feels like an eternity for her.

"L.A? Kind of far from L.A, Madison. What were you doing all the way in Mexico? You must have had some amazing trip to get here." As Adam asked this he too wondered what drove her all the way to Mexico. Though he could ask himself the same question.

"We formed a group there, but it didn't last long." As she said this a hint of sadness emanated from her voice and Adam immediately picked it up.

"I'm sorry," Adam responds. "I know all too well how that must feel." After a few seconds he finally says, "I come from Nevada."

Madison listens and asks, "Nevada? Kind of far from Nevada, Adam."

At this, Adam gives a weak smile.

"Yup, Nevada. I used to live there but I also worked there. I used to be a soccer trainer for the youth."

Madison looks at his body as it's fit and built up pretty well. His arms show a great muscular build and his legs are long but sturdy. She finally says, "I would have guessed."

Adam smiles and Madison also smiles in response.

"What were you before all this shit happened?" Adam inquired.

"I also worked with kids. I used to be a guidance counselor," she confesses.

"Kids are hard to work with, that I know," he says while laughing in good humor. Madison smiles. So far Adam seems to be a decent person but she can't get too attached yet.

"I am heading to Texas," Adam finally speaks up. This response catches Madison off guard but she keeps herself attentive.

Madison looks at him and asks, "Texas? Why?"

"My group is there and they have a big community there. You can join me if you want." Adam has a smile on his face as he says this. He barely knows her and he is inviting her.

"You don't know me at all and I am a total stranger to you. I robbed you at gunpoint and yet you still saved me. And now you're inviting me to come with you. Why?" Madison straight out asked him. She needs to understand him, but she also needs to be certain he is not tricking her.

"I know what you did and you did it for a reason. But you don't seem like a bad person."

Madison turned to look at him and told Adam, "You have no idea what I am capable of."

Adam then smiles at Madison's claim. Madison immediately asks Adam why he smiled at her claim.

"We all have to do things to survive," Adam replies. He said it with such a calm demeanor, but Madison can tell he has a hint of regret as he said it. Madison seems to like him for how straight forward he is. From what she gathered from his answer, he too understands what must be done to live in this new world.

"This group I told you of...they are strong. They are a large group and have everything a survivor needs. I feel safe being around them," Adam confesses to Madison.

"How long have you been with them?" asks Madison.

"A week," replies Adam.

"A week? Why are you over here then?" Madison wonders in confusion.

"I got split up from them," Adam replies and says nothing more. Madison keeps this in mind but asks him no more questions.

As they were driving, they approached an abandoned motel. They agreed to spend the night there. Once they parked within walking distance they exited the car. Adam approached a road sign and pointed at it.

"Arizona is just a couple of hours from here," Adam said.

"Didn't realize we drove that long," Madison replied.

"In the morning, we head to Arizona," Adam told Madison. "There are roads we can take to get to Texas faster."

Madison just nodded in agreement.

Then they searched in the motel checking for any dead but there were none. So they settled in and took refuge.

While Adam was building a campfire, Madison went to the closest bathroom to change her clothes. As Madison was changing, Adam walked in and saw her nude, though he didn't mean to.

Madison was not aware at first that Adam had stepped in the bathroom and was staring at her. So astonished Adam was by Madison that he could not stop looking at her. For a woman her age she appears well built and dare he admit very sexy, admirable, encouraged.

Madison finally noticed Adam staring at her with a curious face. "What are you doing here? Get out!" Madison scoffed Adam.

Adam gulped and then walked out as fast as he could.

When Madison was done, Adam had built the campfire. They both sat around the campfire and talked.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to walk into you like that," Adam apologized.

"It's alright," Madison replied.

Adam had cooked noodles and he handed one bowl to Madison. She thanked him as they began to eat. For Madison it has been days since she has had a decent meal. The dam blowing took a huge toll on her and scattered her away from her family. She never had time to think about eating.

"You said you were from California?" Adam asked.

Madison nodded.

"And then you went to Mexico?"

Madison nodded again.

"Were you with a group in California and Mexico?" Adam asked.

"I was with my family, and people who we met along the way," Madison confessed. It was hard talking about them but at the same time she felt relieved to let it all out.

"May I ask what happened to them?" Adam inquired. "I don't mean to pry too much. I hope you understand."

She nodded. "I lost them." There was sadness in her voice upon realizing the truth of the matter.

Adam felt sorry for Madison more than he initially thought. Before he could say more, Madison finished her meal and stood up.

"I am going off to sleep. Good night." Madison began to walk off to her camp, but she managed to hear Adam say "Good night" with a hint of sadness as he too finished his meal and prepared to sleep as well.

Early morning the next day, Adam woke up but Madison was nowhere to be found.

"Madison?" - Adam searched for her. "Madison?!" - He shouted again while searching for her. But she was not there.

Adam then went outside to look and he realized that his vehicle was missing.

"For fuck's sake!" - Adam shouted in fury. "God damn you Madison Clark!" - He knew that Madison had taken his car and run off.

As he was standing outside feeling defeated, suddenly a group of walkers emerged from the woods, Adam then saw the dead, and pulled out his gun wanting to take them out, but there simply wasn't enough bullets to take them all down. "Fuck, fuck!" - Adam shouted in stress while the walkers were getting closer and closer. Adam decided to run away, to run as far as he could from the walkers as he left the motel, still cursing Madison's name.

**(Back to Madison)**

Madison has been driving for hours now and finally see approaches a sign with the following "Arizona- The Grand Canyon State Welcomes You"

Madison notices that but she keeps driving through Arizona.

After more hours of driving, the truck runs out of fuel.

"Not now, shit." - She exhales. She tries to turn on the engine one more time but it just doesn't work, the car's dead. "Fuck.." - She slowly exhales again.

Madison then gets out of the truck and pulls out her gun as she was watching out for the dead. She then starts walking and sees a hospital from a distance.

As she notices the hospital she then goes towards it. As she's walking towards the hospital, she then runs into a herd of walkers in the city. She then quickly backs off and hides behind a corner. "Fucking hell.. they are everywhere." - Madison claims in shock. Madison tries to find another way to get to the hospital but she doesn't get very lucky to find another way. She then sees a police station across the street and quickly runs to it without the dead noticing her.

She goes in and checks the station but the station turns out to be empty but with one handcuffed walker inside. Madison approaches the walker as the walker growls at her. Madison then reminds herself that she can disguise herself with walker blood. So she takes out her hammer and stabs the walker in the head. She then cuts his stomach open. She pulls out the guts and covers herself with it. "I thought I'd never do this again" - She shivered in disgust.

She then leaves the station and then goes towards the hospital. She emerges with the walkers as she's carefully and slowly moving. Madison felt a bit of stress, as she continued to walk some walkers got too close to her and one of the walkers got to Madison's face and just stopped and stared at her. Madison then too stopped and stared at the walker. After seconds of staring at her, the walker goes away as does Madison. Madison gets closer and closer to the hospital and she finally reaches the entrance. She slowly opens the door but then sees that the hospital was full of walkers as well. The walkers notice the door being opened and they see Madison, they start growling as they go towards her. Madison then kills some of them as she's trying to find a way out. She then gets cornered by some walkers as she has no option to escape. As the walkers move towards her, two men suddenly show up from behind and kill those walkers.

"Come with us now!" - One of the men shouted to Madison as the other one was shooting at the walkers. They grab Madison and then run into a chamber. The walkers followed them. But the boys locked the door so the walkers wouldn't be able to get in. "What the bloody hell was that?!" - A woman in the room wonders in anger. Then an old man and one other woman also come forward.

"And who the hell is this?!" - The woman asked about Madison.

"They had her cornered, we saved her in time." - One of the lads replied.

"You almost got killed because of this woman? And now all of them know where we are thanks to you idiots" - The woman shouted in fury.

"Hey watch your tone Esther!" - One of the men who rescued Madison replied.

"Watch my tone? - The woman named Esther said.

"Esther's right, you two assholes are gonna get us killed." - The older man shouted.

"Hey fuck you Zechariah" - One of the men insulted him.

"Guys don't give them pressure, they saved a life for the love of Christ" - The woman behind Esther came into the debate.

"Look who's talking! You are the one who almost got all of us killed but we still let you in and kept you in our group, didn't we Linda? So we now recognize the people of your kind and we won't make the same mistakes again." - Zechariah answered the lady named Linda.

"Let Linda speak, you son of a bitch!" - One of the men who rescued Madison said.

"Everyone calm down, I wish you no harm or trouble" - Madison says to them.

"Yeah right we've heard that before and last time we believed in that nonsense we almost died because of it" - Zechariah replies to Madison.

"Look I am not trying to stay here, I'll just go and leave and never come back again, you'll never see me again I promise you" - Madison adds.

"What if she has a group?" - Esther asks.

"What do you mean by that?" - One of the men who rescued Madison wonders.

"What if she has a group and if we let her go she tells her group about us and then they come here and raid and kill us. Do we really take chances by letting her go? I say not!" - Esther declares.

"Yeah I say we end her here, she might be dangerous!" - Zechariah agreed with Esther's proposition.

"You two are fucking insane" - Madison replies in big amount of anger.

"What the hell is wrong with you two?! We can't kill her, she has done nothing to us, we don't kill innocent people, we're not monsters!" - the men that saved Madison replied in anger.

"George and Oliver are right man, we can't kill her. Because you're fucked up in the head Zechariah alongside with your lover girl here doesn't mean you can just drag us all into your shit" - Linda sided with Madison and George & Oliver.

"What did I tell you Linda shut your motherfucking mouth" - Zechariah shouts at Linda.

"We all know why you're so fucked up in the head, we know why you and your little bitch girlfriend Esther here always side with eachother even though you both need mental help you heartless cunts" - Linda continues

"Shut up!" - Zechariah yells at Linda.

"Guys stop this madness god dammit" - Oliver responds.

"Is it because your little girlfriend here and you have feelings for eachother? Or maybe because she gave you nice pussy and she that she needed dick so badly that she became a level one lowlife and fucked a crazy old cunt?" - Linda conveys.

"What the fuck's up with you bitch?" - Esther growls at Linda.

"Linda that's enough!" - George tells Linda.

"No it's never enough George. These two raggedy assholes have done enough damage to the group, we can't live with these two fuckers being painful asses to every one of us" - Linda replies to George's request.

"'Go to hell!" - Esther shouts at Linda.

"Everyone knows the truth. We've all seen it. You're just a damaged fool who has no other choice but to obey this old fucker who you are terrified of. We've all seen how harshly he treats you when you disobey him" - Linda reveals.

"Guys that's enough please I'll leave just stop!" - Madison suggests.

"Linda stop it already!" - George shouts at Linda.

"You little bitch I told you to shut the fuck up!" - Zechariah answers Linda.

"Screw you I'm not Esther. You can't tell me what to do. I am not your servant. You're just an old lonely prick that has to pick up fights against those who are weak but have no balls to stand up to those whom's balls are bigger than yours. Just like you do with Esther. Beat the shit out of her when she doesn't obey your old wrinkly ass!" - Linda responds to Zechariah.

"Shut your fucking mouth lady!" - Zechariah yells at Linda.

"This is getting out of control" - Oliver claimed.

"If I don't shut my mouth what will you do? Will you beat me up like you beat up your girlfriend? Oh I fucking dare you. I'll kill you! I'll rip you into pieces. It'd be easier for me to end you since I then would have a reason why to kill you" - Linda furiously responded.

"Linda stop! For the love of God!" - Esther shouts.

"I am just telling the truth Esther. We all know how he treats you and we all know how much you fear him. In fact you don't even love him." - Linda replies.

"What did you just say you whore?" - Zechariah answered in anger.

"Alright that's enough let it go Linda for Christ's sake!" - George urges Linda to stop.

"That's right, we all know Esther doesn't love you. She pretends to love you just because she fears you. Give it up you old fuck. She has never loved you. Who could even love you? You think she sides with you and obeys you because she loves you? Well you're deceiving yourself then. She hates you, just like we all do. And just like the rest of us, she wants you gone, you old son of a bitch!" - Linda shouted at Zechariah's face.

Zechariah then loses his control and hits Linda to the ground as she collapses.

"You bitch how dare you!" - He starts beating her.

"No!" - Esther tries to stop him but he hits her pushing her to the ground.

George then jumps into Zechariah and pulls him off and starts fighting.

As George's punching his face, Zechariah grabs a bottle and punches it against George's face which makes George get weaker and lose control over Zechariah.

Zechariah gets on top of George and starts choking on him.

"Hey get off him!" - Oliver runs to stop him.

As Oliver's ready to jump on him, Zechariah knocks him out..

"ARRGGH!' - Oliver falls back in pain.

Zechariah continues to choke on George trying to strangle him.

"Noo Zechariah please no stop!" - Esther cries out.

"I should have finished you a long time ago. You didn't know who you were fucking with boy. Now I get to finally end you, you stupid nigger!" - He keeps on choking on George as George loses power and is dying.

As Zechariah almost kills George, Madison suddenly pulls out her gun and shoots Zecharian right on the back which makes him fall backwards.

"Wha-what did you do.." - Zechariah says as his mouth fills with blood and falls backwards.

"Nooo!" - Esther runs to him.

All of them stare at Madison with shock. "I've had enough!. Your pride has caused so much harm inside the group and someday it will get you killed. This is my last warning; If I see you again behaving like this, putting your hands on people again, I swear on my children, I will not show any mercy and I will end you right away. Do not fuck with my tolerance. Do you hear me?! DO NOT TEST ME. MY NAME IS MADISON CLARK.. I DON'T FORGIVE.."  
They all looked at Madison with a huge amount of fear.

Some time later, they all got up and put Zechariah on a bed.

"Guys please help! We need bandages and alcohol and stitches! There are none here, please help!" - Esther pleaded for help.

None of them answered. "Linda?" - She said to Linda. "Please you're a doctor, please save Zechariah, I beg you!"

"I'm not a doctor, I just have medical experience and why should I help you? That old rat deserves to die!" - Linda answered.

"Please just help him! I'm sorry for everything that happened, I wanted none of this to happen!" - Esther begged for help.

Linda felt the pain in Esther and she decided to help. "Fine.. but don't think I'm forgiving him for what he did" - She made it clear to Esther.

Esther hugged Linda and said "Thank you"

"Guys some of us need to go to the second floor of the hospital. There should be the things that we need." - Linda told the group.

"I'll go" - volunteered Madison.

"I'll come with you" - said George.

"Great, hurry, we shouldn't be wasting more time" - Linda told them.

Madison and George headed towards the door and opened the door carefully as there were still walkers around.

"How are we gonna do this?" - George asked.

Madison looked around and noticed a walker that was stuck and dragged it's body inside.

George seemed confused and said "What are we gonna do with it?"

"We're gonna pull his guts out and cover ourselves with it"

"What did my ears just hear?" - George was shocked.

"In that way, they won't notice the difference between us and them and that's how we get to those supplies. I know it sounds horrible, but trust me, I've done it before and it works" - Madison confronted him.

They covered themselves with walker guts as George was utterly disgusted with the guts.

They then started slowly walking and merged amongst the herds. George was stressed out and shocked by being so close to walkers.

"Jesus Christ this is a living nightmare" - George spoke.

"Shut up, they'll hear you.." - Madison whispered.

George got face to face with a walker. "Don't move and be quiet" - Madison advised him. George did what Madison told him and came face to face with a walker and then the walker went away and they continued walking.

They finally got to the second floor where there weren't walkers lurking in the halls.

"I never wanna do that again" - George confessed.

"I didn't know you were such a coward" - Madison joked.

"Well I was walking with the dead like it was nothing, isn't that just creepy?" - George declared.

They began walking again through the second floor and searching for supplies. As they were walking, George said "So your name is Madison? Madison Clark?"

"I guess you got that then" - Madison answered his question.

"That was the most badass way to reveal a name. Hats off Madison Clark" - George complimented Madison as they shared a good laugh.

"So where do you come from? You don't seem to be around here" - George wondered.

"LA" - Madison answered honestly.

"LA? How did you end up in Yuma from LA?" - George asked.

"Yuma?" - Madison asked.

"That's the city we're in right now" - George answered.

"Well I didn't directly come here from LA. It wasn't planned to come here at all. It just happened" - Madison told him.

"So where you've been before you arrived here?"

"Mexico. Baja California, across the border." - Madison confessed.

"Mexico? Went there once before this all started. I was sick all my vacation" - George tells Madison.

"That must've sucked" - Madison said.

"So were you with a group in LA and Mexico? You got a family?" - George wondered.

Madison remained quiet for a minute.

"Yes, I was with my children and people who we met along the way." - Madison spoke the truth.

"They're not with you now? Did something happen to them?" - George wondered.

Madison then said nothing. George understood that it wasn't something good and decided not to ask more questions about her people.

"You know what you did today.." - George said

Madison remained quiet.

"You did the right thing. You saved my life. Thank you" - George showed his appreciation.

Madison said nothing and remained silent.

They continued to walk and Madison entered a room. "I'll check this room" - she said.

Madison was checking the room, trying to find supplies. A walker came from behind outta nowhere and jumped into her. She struggled to fight the walker off and it almost got her. George runs from behind and stabs the walker in the head and gives Madison his hand so she could get up.

She gets up and says to George "And you saved my life".

George then smiled and they continued to walk.

"Has your group always been so dysfunctional?" - Madison was straight forward.

"You could say so. Zechariah has always been a pain in the ass, and Esther is not a bad person but she is just too stupid. He's controlling her"

"How have you guys had the patience to let that miserable human be with you?" - Madison wondered.

"We didn't have a choice you could say. We were afraid that the smaller our group gets, the weaker we become. We were just afraid" - He answered her.

"I suppose you now know that's not correct." - Madison replied.

"Well I get it now after I almost died" - He spoke.

They continued to walk and they finally found the room with the supplies that they needed.

"Here we go" - Said George. "Let's grab everything we need".

They grabbed everything they needed and headed back to the group.

On their way back, George said to Madison: "You are welcome to stay with us, Madison. I'd be very glad if you did"

"Us? You might wanna rethink that. Also, I need to move on. I can't stay here." - Madison declined the offer at first.

"Look I know that things didn't turn out as you were expecting it, and trust me, I am deeply sorry to have made you witnessed all this bullshit. I honestly am but, we need a person like you. You're strong, and that's what's lacking in our group right now. Especially with Zechariah now things will get a lot harder. Only you may shut him up for good"

Madison wondered and said "Fine, but don't think that I'll stay with you forever"

"Thanks" - George replied.

They were finally back and Linda said: "Did you guys get everything I asked you for?" They showed her the supplies and she immediately ran off to Zechariah.

While Linda was performing surgery, the group sat together.

Oliver took some whiskey and offered it to the group.

"Madison, here you go. You deserve it most." - Oliver offered a drink to Madison.

"Thank you. I appreciate it" - she accepted Oliver's offer.

Oliver then shared the whiskey with George and then went to Esther and offered her some.

"Esther, here you go. You need it. You've been through a long day" - Oliver wanted to share a drink with her.

Esther turned it down and marched to Madison and got close to her face.

"Why are you still here?" - She asked Madison.

"Because I wanted her to stay. Besides she could be a help" - George defended his decision.

"She could be of help? Are you for real? Everything that happened is because of her. If you didn't bring her here, none of this mess would have happened. I wouldn't have been humiliated by Linda, your ass wouldn't have been almost dead and my boyfriend wouldn't have been on his deathbed right now" - Esther spoke.

"Slow down there. I almost died because of your boyfriend. Madison has no fault, everything that happened is because of Zechariah, Esther. Can't you see?" - George replied.

"What I see is you trusting a total stranger that you barely know who shot my boyfriend and gets to live happily after. She needs to go, she is not staying here. You are not in charge of making such decisions, George" - Esther said to George.  
"You need to let it go, Esther. It's the best for everyone" - Oliver asked Esther to let it go.

"What do you know Oliver? You know nothing that feels committed to someone you love. Should you be the one speaking like that?" - She angrily spoke to Oliver.

"I would definitely be mad as hell, but, the whole story would change if my husband would beat the fuck out of me and treat me like his peasant." - Oliver acted honest which angered Esther.

They looked at Oliver with the shade he just gave to Esther.

"I said Madison is staying, whether you like it or not" - George held fast by his decision.

Linda came out with all blood on her hands. "Linda please tell me he is okay?!" - Esther asked out of stress.

"Don't worry, I managed to get the bullet out. He stopped bleeding, he is resting now" - She gave Esther the news she wanted to hear.

Esther became so happy and she marched to go inside the other room where Zechariah is, but before she left she turned around and told George:

"You are gonna get us killed, that's all I know"

George and the group looked at her in a strange way.

"You're in denial, lady!" - Oliver shouted at Esther.

"Let her go. She's just scared. She'll recover. Give her some time" - George answered Oliver.

"What's up with her again?" - Linda asked the group concerning Esther

"She is not happy that Madison's staying" - Gorge answered Linda's question.

Linda looked over at Madison and said: "You're staying?"

"Well I think I am for now" - Madison answered.

"That's cool, we could need your help here. Besides, you seem pretty badass. Shot the guy right in the stomach. Asshole deserved to be shot in the head." - Linda praises Madison.

"She's more than badass. I really like you, Madison. You're a true fighter!" - Oliver also praises Madison.

"What the hell do you know about being a true fighter?" - Linda asked Oliver.

"What do you mean?" - Oliver asked in concern.

"You are basically a chicken shit. You can't even fight a few dead heads by yourself unless you have a guardian watching your ass." - Linda criticizes Oliver.

"Hey I'm not a chicken shit. I saved Madison earlier today." - Oliver defends himself.

"You saved Madison? Yeah right. I bet you did" - Linda answers Oliver's claims.

"He did save her. He's not scared at all." - George tells Linda.

"Thank you George!" - Oliver thanks George.

"Calm down I'm just screwing with ya boy." - Linda tells Oliver as they share a good laugh.

Esther walks out and says: "Oliver, is the food ready? I need some food for Zechariah, he's hungry.

"Oh right, coming right away." - Oliver gets the food and gives it to Esther as she goes back in the room with Zechariah.

Oliver then served everyone else some pasta he's made. They all sat and shared a meal.

"So Madison" - Linda looked at her.

"Since you are new to the group, will you tell us a bit about who you are" - Linda asked Madison.

"She is from L.A. She came here from Mexico there she was with her family and group" - George answers Linda.

"So you two got to exchange some words with each other a bit? What else do you know about her?" - Linda asked.

"I think you should take the rest, Madison" - George told Madison.

"You're from LA? I had a girlfriend who was from LA" - Oliver said

"You, with a girlfriend?" - Linda joked with Oliver.

"Do you have to make fun of everything that I say? Jeez." - Oliver answered Linda.

"I apparently do. " - As the answered she and the others laughed.

"Go on Madison, tell us more." - Linda spoke to Madison.

"Well I originally come from Alabama. Born and raised in Montgomery. My father was a senator and my mom was just a housewife." - Madison told more.

"Your dad was a senator? You must have gotten a lot of attention from the media." - George asked Madison.

"We did. I was so tired of it. People would never let us have any space. It was horrible" - Madison confessed.

"Then when I grew older, I moved to Los Angeles. There I studied and eventually became a high school counselor." - Madison continued.

"Oh man you got to work with kids. Isn't that incredibly annoying?" - Oliver asked Madison.

"Not at all. Most teenagers were very kind. My time as a counselor was pretty good." - Madison answered.

"Then along the way, I met Steven. The father of my children, Nicholas and Alicia.

"Did he..?" - George wondered.

"He passed away before all this mess began. He is lucky to not live in this world. He was a good guy. Our relationship was very complicated but, he gifted me with the best gift a mother could ever want. He gave me my children." - Madison spoke.

"Then years later, I met Travis. He was my soul mate. I miss him everyday. He was the humanity that I had left. He.. He got killed by another group that we were in conflict with at across the border. He was too good for this world.. and people like him.. they are the kind that always die.." - Madison told them about Travis."

"Travis sounds like he was a great guy." - Linda added.

"He was more than great.. he was.. my everything." - Madison confesses how much she missed him.

"Where are your children?" - Oliver asked.

Madison remained silent for a minute.

"I don't know" - Confessed Madison.

"Back across the border, we found a home we thought was finally a home for us. But it turned out it wasn't.. and there's where I lost my children. I don't know if they're alive... I don't know if they're dead. All I know is I miss them so much. I'd give everything to see them again. I'd give my own life to make sure their lives are safe." - Madison told how much she misses her kids.

They all remained silent for a minute.

"I can understand your pain, but don't give up hope. At least not yet" - George told Madison.

"I know how it is, Madison. I lost my daughter when this world went insane. I miss her everyday, I wish I could have saved her.. you know, wish I could have been able to do something. She was just.. so innocent and pure. She was always so positive over everything, she saw the world from a brighter perspective. That's what's kept me going. And that's what still keeps me going. You just don't give up hope. You fight and fight until you win. I just wish she was still with me.." - Linda told her story.

Esther came out from Zechariah's room and sat alone.

Madison looked at her and felt bad. She took a bowl of soup and got up to give it to her.

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" - Linda asked Madison.

Madison nodded.

Madison got to Esther. And Esther said: "What do you want?"

"I thought I'd check on ya. You must be starving" - Madison showed her concern.

"What do you care? Don't pretend like you do." - Esther answered Madison.

"Please this is not the time for this" - Madison spoke to Esther.

"Time for what? The fact that you almost killed my boyfriend? What kind of woman are you? Just go away" - Esther showed no interest in talking to Madison.

"You don't get it do you? He tried to kill someone, he hit you and he hit Linda. In what world do you think I'd let him just do that? Please.. you should be able to tell wrong from right. You're not a kid. Grow up." - Madison let Esther know.

Esther felt that Madison was right and finally accepted Madison's offer.

"Fine but don't think this will change things between us. Now let me be" - Esther told Madison.

Madison looked over at Zechariah's room and started heading there.

"Where do you think you're going?" - Esther asked Madison.

"Don't worry about it. I won't argue with him." - Replied Madison.

"Just don't please." - Esther said.

Madison entered the room and saw Zechariah laying down. She looked at his wound.

"I see you're recovering. " Madison told Zechariah.

"Madison Clark.. you silly woman. You almost killed me so you could later tell me I'm recovering..? You're something else." - Zechariah told Madison.

"You had it coming. The blame's on you." - Madison replied.

"It's always me.. right. But you're the angel here." - Zechariah replied.

"All of this happened because of you presence Madison and you know it." - Zechariah blamed Madison.

"Again, the only one who's to blame is you. Don't drag others into the mess you've made" - Madison was straight forward.

"Why are you still here? Aren't you supposed to be gone by now?" - Zechariah wondered.

"I am not going anywhere." - Madison replied.

Zechariah got angry hearing about it. "What are you saying? How come you're not leaving?" - He asked Madison.

"George's decision" - Madison said.

"Who the fuck is George? he is not in charge. He doesn't get a say. You are not staying here, you're leaving and never coming back." - He told her.

"You don't get a say either Zechariah. Not after what you've done." - Madison replied.

"Listen to me Clark, when I'm getting up from this thing, I want to see your ass outta here. Or we will have problems." - Zechariah threatened Madison.

"We'll see about that. We'll see if anyone gives a shit about what you say"- Madison replied.

"You're full of shit Madison Clark. And you know it." - He replied.

"The only reason why you think you're in charge is because you think everybody else looks up to you. That's where you're dead wrong, Zechariah. You think they're scared of you, don't you? That boosts your arrogant pride even more. " - Madison spoke.

"They should be scared of me because I keep them alive, you bitch." - Zechariah told Madison.

Madison crushes his wound very hard so it would hurt him a lot.

"Argh, what are you doing?! STOP!" - Zechariah screams in pain.

"They won't be scared anymore. You've lost your power, man. They've seen your true colours. You're done. Now I'm here, and I won't let you lurk around and do whatever you want to. Because you'll face me if you try. Next time it'll be the head, I guarantee you." - Madison threatened Zechariah.

"Get the fuck out of here" - Zechariah yelled at Madison.

Esther walks in and says: "Madison I think it's time for you to go."

Madison then leaves the room and joins the others.

"What did she say to you? Did she bother you?" - Esther asks Zechariah.

"Ignore her, she's full of shit." - Says Zechariah.

Madison rejoins the group and Linda asks her "So what happened in there?"

"He thinks he's in charge. He wants me gone before he gets up or we'll have a problem he says." - Madison confessed.

"Man this guy just won't ever quit will he?" - Oliver says.

"No shit he won't. You should have just ended him right there. Fucker.." - Linda says to Madison.

"He thinks you're scared of him. He thinks he keeps you alive" - Madison says to them.

"Okay I'll go and kill the bastard myself" - Linda says.

"Don't. It's not worth it" - Madison stops her.

"The guy's deluded. He's fooling himself. He's blind" - Said George.

"This guy is gonna be a huge problem for you people. If he does not stop, one of you will have to put him down. Otherwise he will put you down" - Madison warned them.

"We need to think about getting moving. This place ain't safe and we're running out of supplies soon" - Linda spoke.

"Where would we go?" - Asks Oliver.

"I don't know, somewhere else safer than here." - Answers Linda.

"Linda's right. This place ain't safe, it's a big mess full of the dead." - Madison declared.

Esther got out and heard them talking: "Where do you think we should move?"

"Somewhere else safe" - Linda responded.

"What about Zechariah? He's in no condition to move." - Esther spoke.

"We take him with us" - George said.

"I don't think it's a good idea. He can't barely walk, and he'd make a lot of noise out there which would make it very hard for us to get out" - Madison replied.

"Madison's right. We need a week or two for him to get up on his feet again. Please" - Esther begs them.

They all nod.

Suddenly the group hears some bombings and shootings outside the hospital.

"What the hell is that?" - Oliver asked.

"I don't know. It sounded like shooting and bombing" - Linda responded.

"Could it be the military?" - George asked.

"They still around?" - Madison wondered.

Esther then comes and says "What the hell was that?"

"We think it's the military" - George answered.

"The military?" - Esther asks. "Then we should go ask them for help" - She claims.

"That would be too dangerous, we don't know if it's them. We can't take risks" - Madison says.

The shootings can be heard again. They're all scared. "Madison, let's get on top of the roof and let's see what's going on" - George says.

"You others stay close, don't leave." - George advises them.

They nodded.

Madison and George get up on the roof and they see the military fighting a herd.

"Oh my God" - Madison says in shock.

"There is just too many.. for fuck's sake." - George watches in horror.

The shootings continue as they witness the military going down as the walkers overrun the military and eat them alive. They watch in horror bombed buildings that lead more walkers to the city. The city of Yuma has officially become a walker city. Madison watches in horror as she realizes that humanity has truly fallen. She watches all the shed blood and the dead people as they stand on the roof. Madison realized that: The Dead are now the Citizens of Earth.


End file.
